Work had been a little slow this week, after I spent a couple of days suffering from heat exhaustion (How is this even possible in Wales?) but has picked up toward the end of the week.

I'm dividing my time between marketing Panic and writing Psychosis and enjoying the former far more than I thought I would, but still pining to focus on the latter.

As is usual for me I reached around the halfway point in my first draft and realised that a character that I thought would be interesting just didn't fit and so had to scrap him and start over. I don't know why I always seem to do this, but so far it's worked, so who am I to question it? Anyway, the loss of the character ultimately meant the loss of about 6,000 words, but replacing them has, I think, led to a much stronger story with far more potential. Still on course to meet my deadline and have it finished by the autumn. At least as long as I can keep my fingers away from that delete button.

Haven't found time to do much else, but did squeeze in a movie. Unfortunately the movie I squeezed turned out to be The Purge. Now, I try to find redeeming qualities in pretty much every movie, but this one had me yearning for the end about 50 minutes before it finally arrived. Sticking to the old adage that if you can't say anything nice it's better to say nothing at all, I'd sum up The Purge thusly:

I got my first one-star review. Now, obviously my first thought was that the only rational response was to throw myself off the nearest bridge. The nearest bridge though, has a drop of about ten feet, and all I'd accomplish is wet feet, maybe a sprained ankle.

So while I was getting my ankle strapped up a couple of hours later I had time to ponder this turn of events. The review in question was short, but focused on the violence in Panic. I honestly thought I hadn't made it violent enough, given the nature of the events. Still, fair enough, severed heads and faces getting eaten. That is pretty violent. Maybe a lifetime of immersing myself in horror has left me immune. 

But then it got me thinking about self-publishing, and the opportunities it provides, for horror particularly. I remember reading somewhere about Jack Ketchum's magnificent novel Off Season, and how editors had repeatedly sent back his drafts, instructing him that the damn thing was too violent and it simply had to be cut. It struck me as odd, I mean, it is about crazy cannibals. Violence, surely, is the bare minimum you'd expect.

A self-publisher doesn't have to go through that. They can explore the very worst of humanity, and the only red pen crossing out sentences will be their own. Some restraint is required. And yet Psychosis is all about escalation. I'm determined to keep focus on the characters, but the world around them is utter chaos. 

Panic showed us Project Wildfire unleashed on a small town, with a limited number of potential victims, a small number of infected. Had it been set in London...

I'm about halfway through the first draft of Psychosis, and already I feel it is darker than Panic, more extreme. Indeed, sometimes I write a paragraph and sit back with a sigh, wondering just what the hell is wrong with me. I mean, who carries this stuff around in their heads? Maybe I should tone it down, aim for that PG13 rating.

It's a mystery alright, but then I remember that I am a reader too, and that Ketchum's editors were wrong.

And I fucking LOVED Off Season. 

Seriously now, you've been warned. When it comes to film reviews I am not to be trusted. You are reading the opinion of someone who has watched the 1998 version of Godzilla approximately fifteen (yes 15) times. I know, I know, it's an appalling movie, and I wouldn't have much to say in defence of it...other than it's GODZILLA. In MANHATTAN. You had me at giant irradiated lizard Mr. Emmerich. Frankly you could have had Matthew Broderick playing every role in the movie, maybe even the lizard itself. I wouldn't have cared.

So...don't trust me. Yet, here I am, telling you that Evil Dead is the best horror movie I've seen in years. I haven't read any reviews of it, haven't really had any word-of-mouth on it, so there's every chance I am as horribly out of step with the world as I was when I said Cloverfield was the greatest movie ever made (Hey, it's a GIANT MONSTER. In MANHATTAN).

Anyway, Evil Dead. Loved the original, approached the remake with Michael Bay-instilled trepidation. And loved it. Interesting characters doing their best to break away from horror cliches, an excellent opening sequence that turns the girl-being-chased-in-the-woods staple on its head, and then about an hour of genuinely squirm-inducing uberviolence.

Some  horrific imagery that stayed with me long after the credits rolled and just when you think you can relax, Evil Dead manages to find a way to escalate things. I love that in horror, that escalation.

I'm not really into writing sprawling, epic reviews, but I'd recommend Evil Dead to anyone. Watch it and you'll love it. Trust me.

Ok, I confess. I am 100% brand spanking new to blogging. I don't think I've even read any blogs. I mean, I must have, given the inordinate amount of time I spend on the internet, but I wasn't aware of my doing so. Hey, the old 'I-didn't-know-what-site-this-was defence is a classic - stop judging.